UW-River Falls

Plan of Action for Achieving Goals

UW-River Falls has conducted analyses of the workforce, job groups, availability, and utilization and has committed itself to taking the following actions:

1. Diversity Hiring Initiative

As reported in the 2003-04 Affirmative Action Plan, UW-River Falls sent a campus team to the November, 2003 Keeping Our Faculties (KOF) conference, a national initiative to increase hiring and retention of faculty of color. As a component of that conference UW-RF applied for and received two grants totaling $4500 to enhance a) the diversity training and development of campus recruitment committees and b) faculty and staff retention. Activities supported by the grant are ongoing in the areas of improving and expanding the diversity training of search and screen committees and the development and implementationn of diversity training resources. The AA Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Multicultural Advisory Committee and the Dean for Student Development and Campus Diversity has been developinga plan for the administration of the Multicultural Awareness Project for Institutional Transformation (MAPIT) survey to be accomplished in spring semester 2007.

2. Strategic Plan

In the summer of 2006, UWRF began a new strategic planning process. One of the 10 goals developed for campus was to "Foster a Culture of Diversity." The Multicultural Advisory Committee has been charged with developing the intitiatives and tasks to be employed in the implementation of this goal.

3. Evaluation of Administrators

An important item in the evaluation of campus administrators continues to be their atttetnion to and progress in developing greater representation of underrepresented groups.

4. Exit Interviews

Voluntary exit surveys are under revision with the plan to continue surveying all classified and unclassified employees who leave the University. Data that is collected from these surveys and interviews are used to determine if the university's nondiscrimination policies and procedures are being followed.

5. Additional Training

The development of training programs, a collaborative effort between Human Resources and the office of Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance, should be a campus priority and will be on the agenda as the campus begins to implement a new strategic plan. Focal areas for training should include:

Strategies to address the underutilization of women and/or persons of color
Workshops on sexual harassment, performance appraisal, interviewing, basic office practices, and other relevant topics.

6. Recruitment Analysis

The Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Office and Human Resources continue to use detailed spreadsheets to track the number of offers made, declined, and accepted for faculty and academic staff searches. Race/ethnicity and gender data of finalists for positions will continue to be noted. When available, reasons for declining an employment offer will be noted. This may give a better sense of how best to focus efforts to increase the acceptance of first offers and to enhance diversity of new hires.

7. Employment Selection - Faculty and Academic Staff

Procedures for full-time academic staff and tenure track faculty recruitment and hiring are revised and updated on a continuing basis. The Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Office meets with each search and screen committee at the beginning of the search process to update them on procedures and discuss diversity issues in the context of hiring.

The employment selection process will continue to be closely monitored to ensure good faith efforts are made to recruit and employ women and persons of color. Special attention will be given to areas of underutilization:

Position descriptions are reviewed to ensure that they accurately reflect position duties and responsibilities and that the minimum qualifications are job related and do not create artificial barriers to employment. The review continues at the time of recruitment for all vacancies.
Recruitment plans, or protocols, are developed and monitored by the College Deans and the Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Officer to ensure comprehensive good faith efforts are made to attract qualified women and minority applicants at least approximately in proportion to their availability. As of Fall, 2003, advertisements for faculty and staff positions have been routinely placed in professional academic publications targeting a diverse audience: Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Hispanic Outlook and Women in Higher Education. Data are gathered to assess how many applicants became aware of positions from these sources and so judge the effectiveness of this effort.
Interview lists are reviewed by the College Deans and the Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Officer to ensure they reflect the composition of the pool of qualified applicants. In addition to reviewing the diversity within applicant pools, the Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Officer also consults with departments and administrative units as they identify semi-finalists for telephone interviews.
Interview questions continue to be reviewed by the College Deans and the Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance Officer to ensure nondiscrimination and job relatedness.
Reasons for non-selection of all women and persons of color, and a comparative analysis of finalists for all academic staff and faculty positions will continue to be required.

8. Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedures

Policies and procedures applicable to complaints of sexual harassment will be reviewed and updated to conform to Title VII and Title IX standards. The posting of these policies and procedures in relevant publications and on the Equity, Affirmative Action and Compliance website are regularly updated.

9. Classified Staff Hiring Procedures

A systematic approach to recruitment in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area is always considered in order to improve the number of applicants from underrepresented groups. Strategic advertising of positions is done to reach underrepresented groups. The AA Officer and HR Managaer for classified hiring consult with hiring supervisors and interview panels to disciss AA/EEO goals. Balanced panels are utilized wherever possible when filling positions in underutilized job groups.